10 More Hex Locations from the Caanish Archipelago

In the spirit of hexploration, and as a sequel to my previous post, 10 Hex Locations from the Caanish Archipelago, I took some time this week to revisit and document another 10 interesting, inspirational locations from my home setting - focusing on the rolling plains, where the nomads patrol migration patterns and the great herds roam free.

How did my players interact with (or react to!) them?

Immaterial! How will yours? Hexward-ho, readers!

1.	Justice Mound Rising from a sea of grass miles in every direction - a rectangular mound rises where the river curves, north-east to north-west: housing a temple of marble: guarded and maintained by the Mahlu - vicious men with the heads and hinds of lions - sworn to the service of the Lord of Justice. From the river to the east, a masonry road is laid, leading to the eastern gate; on which a golden crest depicts the dawn - visible from without the structure, facing west, a stairwell rises - carved of the same stone - into the heavens westward: culminating in a gate, open to the air, bearing another seal: a gold disc with the face of a bearded man - glimmering wings protruding from the left and right of the disc and a feathered tail flowing downward.
2.	Sand Kelp Forest The grass grows deeply here - a valley nestled into a nook in the hills to the south: approaching from the south, one might mistake it simply for a rise - but from the north, especially - it's a forest of sand-colored stems: as kelp rises from the sea bottom, so also does the grass here, dancing subtly along its length as invisible currents wash between the blades - the tallest of which range to over 20 feet in height. Sages say there is the hint of magic about it - and locals claim that, with the coming of the moon, you can hear the voice of a Grass Dragon whispering lullabies throughout the glade - but there's no way to predict or confirm such a song... is there?
3.	The Horse Graveyard Sacred to the Khiami, a native pastoral people to the Caanish plains, this site is situated in the northern part of a grassy island, where the grain gives way to scrub and brush. In it are a dozen dozens of stone tophets: sacrificial structures where horses were slain and burned, offered to Odakon - the Lord of Hoof and Waves. Centuries of history have mixed to the soil here - and with them, it is said, tarax spirits prowl in the twilight hours.
4.	Tortoise Valley Sunken a hundred yards into the earth, this hollow is accessible from a treacherous collapsed section to the south-east, forming a stair and ramp. Within is a section of table-shaped stones - worn smooth - almost primitive megaliths to mushrooms - varying in height from four to twelve feet and always a diameter double so much. The valley is named after the fauna - large tortoises with  shells prized for use in jewelry and utensils - but none have entered yet who have not wondered about the table stones under which the tortoises repine.
5.	Birthing Grounds of the Gud-Alim The Gud-Alim, cattle to the Autumn Lord: the mystic bison whose shaggy fur will stop blades, whose fetid breath can cause a man to wither, can be found in their hundreds here - in the Spring and Summer - having come to this place to calf. Taking shelter among the bracken, rearing young among the savanna trees, here they are born: and here they are vulnerable - if only for this first season.
6.	Spiderweb Pass Flanked by hills on either side, this defile - from a distance - seems soft and motionless, the lowland being smooth and dead compared to the waist-high grasses that grace the hills: however, upon closer experience, this seeming shortcut is no road - but a veritable carpet of spiderwebs. Spiders ranging from a fingernail to a hand to the size of a man prowl beneath and among the concealing, impeding web: predators, first, but unwitting guardians, second, to the treasures of the bold (or foolish?) merchants and travelers who sought to shave a day from their journey by taking a shortcut through the spiders.
7.	Shrine of the Lightning Ray By the seaside on a small island rising from the shallows within eyesight of the shore on a clear day stands a granite structure - within, a saltwater bath oriented to face south-east: a rivulet cut in the far face to allow a trickling current to wash out to the sea. The bath never runs dry - and it is said that, underground, there must be several places where years and cracks in the rock allow the sea to wash into the bath with the tide. Pilgrims are known to throw coins or other offerings into the pool - where they are swept away and around (or perhaps even ingested) by a shoal of electric rays who make their home in the bath.
8.	The City Forgotten A massive location - with outsized architecture and furnishing to match - the city occupies three distinct areas, each of which as large as 2 1/2 square miles: The Outskirts Outside the crumbling walls of the city, a township had once sprung up - perhaps to do business, as sprawl-towns do today, with the then thriving denizens of the city within. The buildings were made of mud brick - a curious mechanism of reeds and dirt to lend integrity to the structure - but are largely crumbling, their ilk not meant to stand against the ages. Within is said to be dust and broken, antiquated tools and implements - but there is evidence of defensive berms having been constructed as well... do they belong as well - or have they been constructed by new residents? Further - are they truly designed to keep invaders out... or might they have been placed to hem something in? The Palisade A city of medium size, construction has been made of sterner stuff than the Outskirts. Concrete is mixed with gravel to form solid, multi-story structures - crammed against one another to save space - standing against time and of size equivalent to any of the Caanish port towns of the region: each of which, however, standing half again as tall as that which a man might have constructed. There is evidence of feet moving - but no sound or sight of feet; there is evidence of food eaten, but no smell nor taste to be had - despite the comings and goings, there is curiously little sign of who has come or gone... The Palace The Palace - a fortified series of estates, massive homes of the elite and powerful set on three tiers, three overpasses with limited accessibility between each other: the Palace, itself accessible only from the Palisade across three grand bridges: of which, only one is still safe. To the south, the bridge has collapsed wholly - a victim of time; to the center - the tallest of the three bridges, elevated as though to provide an exclusive passage for those only interested in the upper levels, is missing a single span, almost as though it had been cut. But to the north, the dark stone still hangs over the a river, lazily separating the shadows of the low from the shadows of the high. An enterprising adventurer might find their way across through the sewers if they so dared.
9.	Scorpion Ridge Where the hills to the west fall into the flatland, coursing into the sea of grain, the ground rebels as though on a rocky shore: with stone tables, outcroppings, and plateaus posing as wave breakers against the encroachment of grass. These flats, these badlands, are infested with scorpions of all types - this place being the epicenter, the capitol of the kingdom of the Scorpion Men - arachnid centaurs quick on their claws and quick of wit, making their lairs between the crags.
10.	The Lost City of the Sand Giants The legends of the Khiami speak of a time in the past where men were giants - twice as tall, twice as wise, and twice as virtuous. However those times - as all times - had come to an end - with that lost race of giants since having gone extinct: but having left their possessions to weather beyond their bones. This was their capitol - this was the center of their civilization - its sprawling acreage sitting across a sea of sand at the base of a dead volcano, as dead as the hands that built the city. The buildings are said to be twice as grand as would be implied of a creature twice a man; the treasures are said to be twice as rich - and the secrets, who knows how much deeper?

 

Public domain art retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com, ReusableArt.com, or the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.